Marketplace Morning Report for Thursday, April 12, 2012

New Orleans is gearing up for its annual Jazz Fest at the end of the month, but it turns out the Crescent City has a little work to do when it comes to the business side of things. Google has been doing a lot of spending lately, but is it also bringing in money from its bread-and-butter business -- those ads it sells next to search results? Elsewhere in the tech world, the Department of Justice is accusing Apple and five publishers fixing prices for electronic books, or e-books.

New Orleans has long been a music Mecca, but it has surprisingly little infrastructure for the business side of the industry. To help fill this gap, two hip-hop entrepreneurs have been sharing the gospel of copyright and licensing with local musicians and producers.

Anyone who’s filled up a gas tank recently would probably conclude there’s not enough supply and there’s too much demand, that’s why it costs almost $4 on average a gallon nationwide to fill up your tank. But when it comes to natural gas the supply demand problem is just the opposite.

The number of people signing up for unemployment benefits rose by 13,000 over the last week -- a surprise and not a good one. But more people voluntarily leaving their jobs can also be a good sign for the economy.

New Orleans is gearing up for its annual Jazz Fest at the end of the month, but it turns out the Crescent City has a little work to do when it comes to the business side of things. Google has been doing a lot of spending lately, but is it also bringing in money from its bread-and-butter business -- those ads it sells next to search results? Elsewhere in the tech world, the Department of Justice is accusing Apple and five publishers fixing prices for electronic books, or e-books.